Related Articles

The acronym SKU stands for stock keeping units. The SKU is a unique identifying number for each product the store carries. Since it's an in-house numbering system, it may vary between different grocery chains. SKUs are important for keeping track of inventory via computer systems so a store knows how quickly items are selling, when best-before dates may be approaching and when to reorder.

Current Trends in SKUs

According to the Food Marketing Institute, a traditional supermarket has, depending on its size, anywhere from 15,000 to 60,000 SKUs. There is a push toward reducing the number of SKUs in stores to help increase the sale of higher profit private-label goods, create a more streamlined product presentation and to improve both cost controls and inventory control.

References (2)

About the Author

Darlene Peer has been writing, editing and proofreading for more than 10 years. Peer has written for magazines and contributed to a number of books. She has worked in various fields, from marketing to business analysis. Peer received her Bachelor of Arts in English from York University.

Photo Credits

Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

bibliography-iconicon for annotation tool Cite this Article

Choose Citation Style

Peer, Darlene. "What Does SKU Mean in the Grocery Business?" Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/sku-mean-grocery-business-75577.html. Accessed 14 September 2019.

Peer, Darlene. (n.d.). What Does SKU Mean in the Grocery Business? Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/sku-mean-grocery-business-75577.html